Green manure removal with reduced nitrogen improves saline-alkali soil organic carbon storage in a wheat-green manure cropping system

The incorporation of green manure into cropping systems is a potential strategy for sequestering soil carbon (C), especially in saline-alkali soil. Yet, there are still unknown about the substitution impacts of green manure on nitrogen (N) fertilizer in wheat-green manure multiple cropping system. Herein, a five-year field experiment was performed to determine the impact of three levels of N fertilizer inputs [i.e., N fertilizer reduced by 0 % (100N), 10 % (90 N), and 20 % (80 N)] with aboveground biomass of green manure removal (0GM) and return (100GM) on soil organic carbon (SOC) storage and its primary determinants. The results demonstrated that no significant interaction on SOC storage was detected between green manure and N fertilizer management. 80 N enhanced SOC storage in bulk soil by 7.4 and 13.2 % in 0–20 cm soil depth relative to 100 N and 90 N (p < 0.05). Regardless of N fertilizer levels, compared with 100GM, 0GM increased SOC storage in bulk soil by 14.2–34.6 % in 0–40 cm soil depth (p < 0.05). This was explained by an increase in soil macro-aggregates (>2 and 0.25–2 mm) proportion contributing to SOC physical protection. Meanwhile, the improvement of SOC storage under 0GM was due to the decrease of soil C- and N-acquisition enzyme activities, and microbial resource limitation. Alternatively, the variation partitioning analyses (VPA) results further suggested that C- and N-acquisition enzyme activities, as well as microbial resource limitation were the most important factors for SOC storage. The findings highlighted those biological factors played a dominant role in SOC accumulation compared to physical factors. The aboveground biomass of green manure removal with N fertilizer reduced by 20 % is a viable option to enhance SOC storage in a wheat-green manure multiple cropping system.